Guest Blogging will add feathers to your blogging career and help you to build a reputation

What are you writing about nowadays? Is it your personal blog or something more insightful? But, the more important question is where are you posting your blogs? Are enough people reading your blogs or are they going completely unnoticed? This can be a baffling question when you consider the fact that millions around the globe spend considerable time on the Internet. However, it has nothing to do with your writing and more with the placement of your articles. Guest Blogging is a way in which you can reach out to a vast audience and establish your reputation as a writer.

The building blocks of guest blogging

What is Guest Blogging? It is a simple art of contributing to reputed blogging sites on the Internet as a guest writer. It is one of the most effective tools for building your reputation as a writer as well as driving traffic to your website. There are various global conglomerates that employ guest blogging to generate activity on their blogs. But, it is not easy to build your reputation as a guest writer. The first step is to list down your expectations from Guest Blogging:

• Establishing yourself as a Subject Matter Expert in the industry
• Driving readers to your own blogs
• Know the viewpoint of your readers

Once you have established your goals, the next step is to find the suitable blog sites that are related to your subject. It might look like an easy task, but searching the vast maze of the Internet can be a daunting task.

The search for a suitable blogging site

The focus is the most important factor while searching a suitable blogging site. Don’t be swayed by the popularity of a blog site, but consider if it is related to your subject matter. Even subtle differences in the blog site can have an impact on the engagement levels of your blogs. A few pointers that you can keep in mind while choosing a suitable site are mentioned below:

• The blog content is focused on your industry
• The blog audience is interested in your industry
• The blog has an engaged readership
• The blog has a social media presence

Make a start

Any endeavor is unsuccessful until you start it. The same rule applies to guest blogging as well. You can adopt a macro approach to search for a blogging site that is relevant to your subject. For instance, if your technically inclined and like to write on health topics then Weight Loss Triumphs will be the perfect site for you. However, you can even drill down to the micro level and minutely consider various factors before choosing a blogging site. Here are a few ways in which you can explore a site in more details:

• • Google searches:
    Google keyword can prove to be handy in the effort to find suitable blogging sites. You can use the relevant keyword followed by the phrase ‘Submit a Guest Post’. Here is a snapshot of the search results for a health blogging site that accepts guest posts.

    

• Identify prolific guest bloggers:
  It is good to know other people in the industry that have an authority on the subject and write prolifically on the Internet. Try to search the sites on which these writers post by using phrases like ‘Guest Post By…author’s name’. The search will provide you with a list of blogging sites that accept guest posts.
• Social Search:
  Guest bloggers are generally very active on social sites too. You can leverage micro-blogging sites like Twitter to look for guest posts on health articles and find out the blogs on which these writers post, simply by following the links.
• My Blog Guest:
  My Blog Guest is a community of guest bloggers. It is the best place to connect with other bloggers and find out about the blog sites that are accepting guest posts.

Make gradual progress

Don’t jump the gun once you have identified the suitable blogging sites. Guest Blogging is all about nurturing your reputation as a writer. It is a gradual progress and you have to approach it in steps. A few ways in which you can make the process more organized are mentioned below:

• Analyze the blog’s content:
  Try to analyze the content of your blog in greater details. Is the content descriptive and research-oriented or it has a more personal tone? Know about the level of the readers of the blog as well. Are they beginners or mature? A detailed analysis will help you to prepare the groundwork.
• Observe the performance of other guest bloggers:
  Before choosing a blog to contribute as a guest blogger, it is important to know the response received by other guest bloggers on the site. Readers sometimes prefer blogs only from the site owners and the chances of success on such a site may be limited.
• Measure the performance of posts:
  Measure the performance of posts on the blogging sites to know about the popular topics on the Internet. A few sites that will give you an idea of the engagement levels of a blog are mentioned below:
  a) http://topsy.com/s?q=domain.com: This site will show you the number of times a blog post has been tweeted. Just replace the domain.com with the blog’s name.
  b) http://plus.topsy.com/s/domain.com: This site will give the information on the number of times a blog has been shared on Google+.

Proper research will help you to understand the requirements of a blogging site and customize your pitch accordingly to match it. Preparing a good pitch also demands creativity and you should spend a considerable amount of time on it.

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Creating a perfect pitch

Treat your guest blogging pitch as your resume. It is the best opportunity you will get to showcase your talents to the blog owner. The trick is to customize your pitch as per the requirements of your blog. Here are few pointers that will help you to create a bespoke pitch.

• Pay attention to the guidelines:
  Guidelines are the most important and often the most neglected aspect of our lives. Make sure to read the guidelines carefully before you prepare a pitch. It will help you to understand the requirements of the blog owner clearly.
• Address the owner properly:
  It is a good idea to start your e-mail by addressing the blog owner with their names. Although, the name of the owner may not be readily available you can find it by scouting around on the website or social media sites.
• Communicate a purpose:
  Your pitch should provide a strong testimonial to your capabilities as a guest blogger. Add links to your posts on social sites that have a reasonable number of comments from users. This will highlight your potential as a blogger.

Getting down to business

Now that you have identified and approached a suitable guest blogging site, it is time to come down to the actual business of writing. You will always face the dilemma of saving the best writing for your own blogs or submitting it to the guest blog site. This is a personal call and making minor modifications in the write-up will help you to make more informed decisions. A few other guidelines you can follow to create a good guest blog are mentioned here.

• Make your blogs informative:
  Monitor the content of your blog to include as much information as you can. Don’t make it appear like an advertisement and avoid a promotional tone.
• Maintain consistency:
  Ensure that your guest blogs are similar to the ones posted on the site. Try to maintain similar formatting, font sizes and so on. Your blogs should be synchronized with that of the guest blogging site.
• Provide links:
  Include some links in your blog that direct to other posts of the site owner social sites. This will reflect your interest in the work of the guest blog owner.
• Provide a call to action:
  Make sure to know about your reader comments by including a suitable call to action. A heightened activity on your post will augur well for it.

The points discussed above will help you to kick-start your guest blogging career. There are various other aspects associated with it like measuring the success of your guest blogs, but they will be covered later. Till then; be a good guest!